


One of the Guys

by LuvBusters



Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Being the Only Girl Sucks Sometimes, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Language, Slight Sexual Innuendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:02:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21714235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuvBusters/pseuds/LuvBusters
Summary: Janine begs to go out in the field when she gets bored behind the desk.
Relationships: Egon Spengler/Janine Melnitz
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	One of the Guys

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for no new stuff lately. Been sick. Better now! Hope you enjoy!

Janine was getting restless. She had finally caught up on her mountain of invoices and notes on case files; now she was looking for something to do. She heard Ray coming downstairs. She smiled, thinking it couldn’t hurt to put a bug in his ear. 

“Hey Ray! Are you busy?”

“Hi Janine! Not really, just taking these tools downstairs to store for Egon. You look like you’re all caught up?”

“Yeah! Look, do you think I could go out with you guys on a call if another one comes in later?” She gave Ray the sweetest, most innocent look she could muster. 

Ray pulled on his shirt collar, looking around nervously. “Umm … I dunno, Janine. Egon said after the last time that you should just stay here.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh please! That was more than five months ago!” 

“I don’t know,” Ray whispered. “Peter wasn’t all that happy about it either.”

“Fine. I’ll just sit here and be bored,” Janine pouted. 

Ray started to continue towards the stairs but stopped. “Look, I’ll see what I can do.” He gave Janine a little playful wink. 

“Thanks, Ray! You’re a doll!” she beamed. 

He smiled and finished his task. Ray then returned upstairs. He found Winston had joined Egon in the lab. Winston was looking over the new “toy” that Egon and Ray had cooked up. 

“Uh, Egon, Winston? I have a request … from Janine,” Ray said carefully. 

Both men looked up. 

“What’s up?” Winston asked.

“Janine wants to go on the next call with us.”

Egon’s head popped up from his work immediately; Winston grimaced. 

“Absolutely not!” Egon said loudly. 

“She’s caught up on all her work and she’s bored,” Ray said, pleading Janine’s case on her behalf. “It’s been five months.”

“No! Her injuries from that bust were extensive! She needs to stay here!” Egon demanded. 

“Winston, come on! Please?” Ray begged. 

“Oh no! I’m not gettin’ in the middle of this! If Egon says no, then I guess that’s it.” He held up his hands in surrender.

“Not gettin’ in the middle of what?” Peter asked, waltzing into the lab. He had overheard the conversation as he was passing by. 

“Janine’s caught up on her work and is bored. She wants to go with us on the next call,” Ray explained. 

“NO! I FORBID IT! NO, NO, NO!” Peter yelled. 

“So …. your answer is …?” Ray asked. 

Peter glared at him. 

Janine walked in unannounced. “I heard all the screamin’ and thought I’d come see what’s going on?”

“I tried Janine, but I don’t think you’re gonna be able to go with us,” Ray said, very apologetically. 

“Thanks anyway, Ray,” she patted his arm and smiled. She then turned her attention to Peter. “And why, oh Wise One, am I forbidden?!”

Peter gave her an exhausted look as if to say, “why must I explain this AGAIN?!” “That last time ….,”

“...was five months ago!” Janine interrupted. “Five. MONTHS!” She held up her fingers to illustrate her point. 

“And, you spent a week in the hospital with four broken ribs and a severely sprained ankle!” Egon chimed in. “Then, it was another week before the doctor released you back to work! And on light duty then!”

“Between covering for you while you were out and the times you had to go to physical therapy, it put too much of a strain on all of us!” Peter added. “So, no! You’re staying here! I’m sorry but that’s final!” He turned and walked out of the lab. 

She turned her attention to Winston. He just again held up his hands in surrender and left the lab, too. Ray just smiled weakly and left as well. She was alone in the lab with Egon. 

Once he realized that, he quickly sat back down and continued his work. But Janine quietly walked closer, standing beside where he was sitting on the stool. He cut his eyes to the side and saw her standing there, her arms folded across her chest. 

He meekly looked up at her. “Janine….”

“It’s been five months, Egon,” she repeated but in a more pleasing tone. 

Seeing that he wasn’t going to get anything else done until this topic was indeed over, he laid down his soldering tool. He gestured for her to sit down on the stool next to him. 

She sat down and waited patiently to listen to what he had to say. 

“I’m not sure that you’re aware of what we endured from your mother once she found out what had happened.”

“Why was my mom even brought into it?! I’ve told you guys before not to do that!” 

“We had no choice! The day after your accident, she stopped by the office unannounced. She wanted to have lunch with you!”

“Haven’t you ever like … you know … LIED?!”

“Not to your mother! And I’m not about to start!”

“I’ve always left out certain details of the job, you know, just to reassure her.”

“Well, I for one do not want to go down that particular road again. Your mother was quite ‘colorful’ in what we could all do if that ever happened again.”

“Oh….she never mentioned that to me,” Janine’s tone was suddenly very quiet. 

“And Peter bore the brunt of it, I’m afraid. He tried to reason with her and make her understand that we needed your help.”

“That didn’t help?!”

“She told him if we were that short-handed, we should hire another man who could handle it.”

Janine’s teeth clenched, her face reddening. “So, my mom doesn’t think I’m man enough to handle it?!” Her voice gradually got louder with each word. 

“Now, Janine, I didn’t say that,” Egon said, quickly trying to smooth over this conversation. 

Janine stood abruptly. “Thank you for telling me this, Egon. I had no idea! Well, let me get back downstairs to my desk - where I BELONG! I guess if she had HER way, I’d be home - barefoot and PREGNANT!” She marched loudly out of the lab. 

Egon just shook his head and tried to regain his focus on his work. Unfortunately, the only thing he could think about now was the mental image of Janine - barefoot and pregnant.

*********************  
The next two days passed with no mention from Janine of helping the guys out on calls. She passed her free time by perusing through magazines and newspaper ads. 

Egon had told the others of his conversation with Janine, and that she had no idea of the battle royale that her mother had caused. 

“Her mom is just trying to protect her child,” Ray had said. 

“I can see her point, but why can’t she see ours?!” Peter had argued. His adrenaline had still been running on full steam since the argument with her mom. 

“Probably because Janine’s job description says she’s a receptionist/office manager - not a Ghostbuster,” Winston had pointed out. 

“Technically, we’ve never really typed up a formal job description of her duties,” Egon had suggested. 

After that conversation, Egon had taken it upon himself to draft an official job description for Janine. He buzzed Janine’s desk phone. 

“Janine?”

“Yes?”

“Would you mind coming up to the lab please? You can turn on the answering machine.”

“Umm … sure. Be right there,” Janine replied. She was confused but did as requested. She then walked upstairs to the lab; what she saw next stopped her cold in her tracks. Her heart pounded so hard, she could hear the sound in her ears. 

Seated before her were all four Ghostbusters, smiling. Egon stood, gesturing for her to enter. 

Janine timidly walked into the lab, sitting down in the chair that Egon held for her. She sat down on the edge, waiting for the moment to come - it was obvious something was about to go down. 

“Janine, are you ok?” Ray asked worriedly.

“Yeah, girl. You look like you’re gonna be sick!” Winston said.

“Look, I won’t ever bring up going on calls with you guys again! I love my job and I love you guys! And I need this paycheck, small as it might be!” Janine rambled in a panic. 

“Oh no! We’re not firing you!” Peter said, mortified that she thought that’s what was going on.

“You’re not?” she asked quietly. 

“No! It occurred to us that we’ve never given you an official job description since you were hired,” Ray explained. 

“So, Spengs came up with one!” Peter announced. 

Egon handed Janine a copy as well as the others. 

She read over it carefully, her smile getting brighter by the minute. The first thing she noticed was the job title:

Receptionist/Office Manager/Part-Time Ghostbuster - Auxiliary Team.

The description listed all of the office duties that she handles: filing, answering the phone, scheduling appointments, payroll, expenses, and handling in person conversations with clients. 

The next part outlined that, as a member of the auxiliary team, Janine’s duties include to aid and assist the guys in the field in the event that either an extra team member is necessary or in the event one or more of the others are incapacitated. 

Janine was speechless. She looked at the guys with an expression that they thought meant she was about to explode. She jumped up and gave each one a tight hug, lingering a little longer with Egon, of course. 

“And yes, that does come with a pay raise!” Peter said before Janine could ask. 

“Well, I guess I might have to take back some of the things I’ve said about you, Dr. V!” she teased. 

“But, there are certain times that we will use this “official auxiliary member,” Egon spoke up. 

“Yeah, this ain’t a ‘Get Out of the Office Free Card’!” Peter instructed. “It’s only when one of us is sick or whatever, or if it’s something that we’re gonna need extra hands for.”

“Yes, not when you’re ‘bored,’” Egon added.

“I know, I know,” Janine said. 

“So, if your mom ever asks us again about why you’re out in the field, here’s the answer!” Ray said excitedly. 

“Yeah! You won’t have to keep things from her anymore!” Winston said. 

“I don’t know what to say except thank you!” Janine said, again hugging each man and again, hugging Egon a bit longer than the others.

Peter put an arm around her shoulders as they exited the lab. “Yeaaahhh, you’re just one of the guys now,” he teased. 

“In some ways,” Janine teased back as she slid out from underneath Peter’s arm. “Except cleaner and more neat.” She ruffled his hair as she said that. 

“Hey! Back off!” Peter whined as he hurriedly tried to fix the damage. 

**************************

The following week, a call came in that Peter agreed Janine was needed to help with. A particularly pesky poltergeist was wreaking havoc on a furniture store in Manhattan. Normally, something like that wouldn’t have called for extra back up, but when Janine was told by the caller that several people had already been injured, they thought it best. 

The store was a very large one. Winston parked Ecto-1 by the security guard station at the side gate. They all geared up and went inside. It took a few minutes to pinpoint its exact location, but soon, Egon was leading them straight to it. 

Deciding it would be best to divide and surround the entity, everyone split apart. Peter took the far right side while Ray took the far left. Winston went around to the back to enter from behind while Egon went straight up the middle. He kept Janine with him a few feet away. 

Suddenly, the ghost hurled part of a chair arm that had been broken off at them! 

“EGON!” Janine shouted. 

“I SEE IT!” he replied, quickly taking cover to dodge it. He then fired his proton thrower at the entity, who had given away its hiding place. 

Janine joined in with her thrower. 

But it was agile enough to maneuver out of range. 

“DAMNIT!” Janine mumbled.

Winston fired, having entered the area from the back entrance, taking the ghost by surprise. Peter and Ray came running in, helping Winston hold it in the streams. 

“Good! Hold it there!” Peter yelled. 

Janine was ready to throw out the trap when suddenly, a second ghost appeared! 

“What the hell?!” Peter screamed. “I thought it was just ONE?!”

“Apparently, the PKE meter only registered one. With all the activity, I didn’t see the second one!” Egon yelled.

“Doesn’t matter! Let’s just get em!” Janine yelled. She threw out the trap for the first ghost. Winston and Ray were able to capture that one. 

Egon and Peter started to work chasing down the second one. Egon checked his PKE meter to be sure this was the only one left. 

“Anymore surprises, Spengs?”

“Negative!”

The two men finally had the second ghost in view and ready to capture. All they needed was the trap. But this ghost was harder to hold in the streams than the first one. 

“RAY! WINSTON! JANINE! WE NEED BACK UP! THIS MOTHER AIN’T GOIN DOWN EASY!” Peter shouted into his radio. 

“ON THE WAY, BOSS!” Janine replied. 

In moments, they joined Egon and Peter, each using their throwers to hold it. 

“YOU WON’T KIDDING!” Winston yelled as he fought to keep his stream in line to hold the ghost as it thrashed. 

“I’M GONNA NEED TO MOVE TO GET THE TRAP OUT!” Janine screamed out over the noise of the ghost’s yells and the proton packs.

Peter gave a thumbs up as best he could. 

Janine ran quickly to the other side of the area where the ghost was being held. She climbed up a small set of stairs to reach the area where she could deploy the ghost trap. 

Suddenly, Egon’s PKE meter alarm sounded. A third ghost was moving in fast. Before he could warn her, the other ghost came up behind Janine and pushed her down the flight of stairs. The stairs were steel and had rigid edges. She fell down the stairs on her right side, the jagged edges of the steps ripping her jumpsuit and her T-shirt she was wearing underneath. 

Peter and Ray quickly moved into position to catch the third ghost while Egon and Winston still struggled to hold the second one. 

Janine was conscious and laying at the bottom of the stairs. However, she now had an even better vantage point for throwing the trap. 

Egon gave her a quick glance. “JANINE! CAN YOU THROW IT NOW?!”

“I SURE CAN!” She screamed through gritted teeth. She took the trap and gave it a good throw, landing perfectly in place beneath the ghost. She held the pedal in her hand, ready for the word. 

“HIT IT!” Egon shouted.

Janine slammed her hand down on the pedal, opening the trap and sucking the ghost inside. Once captured, Egon and Winston came rushing over to check out the extent of her injuries. 

Egon helped her remove her pack and powered it down. He then removed his own pack as well. 

Winston had removed his pack and had knelt down next to Janine. “Is it ok if we unzip the top of your jumpsuit?”

“Of course it is!” Janine hissed in pain. Blood could already be seen through the ripped opening. “You guys know I wear clothes underneath!”

Egon cleared his throat. 

“Alright! NOW I do ever since the LAST TIME!” She sighed heavily. “I’m not gonna sue for sexual harassment for goodness sake!”

Winston carefully unzipped the jumpsuit, sliding her arms out of the sleeves. He gave Janine another questioning look before raising her T-shirt slightly to check out the damage. 

Peter and Ray reappeared, having captured the third ghost. 

“Back so soon?” Egon asked.

“That last one wasn’t so bad!” Ray replied. 

“Pretty stupid, actually,” Peter said. “Damn thing practically flew straight into the trap!”

“Anyway, how’s Janine?” Ray asked.

Winston had to pull up the shirt high enough that her entire bra was visible, as well as plenty of cleavage, to get an accurate look of her injury. He quickly frowned then pulled the shirt back down. 

“Looks like you’re gonna need some stitches - more than a couple,” he told Janine. He then helped her stand. 

She tied the jumpsuit sleeves together around her waist. When she looked up, she noticed everyone had flushed cheeks, even Winston. 

As they made their way back to Ecto, Janine rolled her eyes. “Jeez, guys! You have all seen a lot MORE of me years ago when I wore that bikini to work! You guys look more embarrassed NOW than ya did THEN!”

Ray explained: “well, Janine, there’s a difference between raising up our shirts to check for injuries than yours. A BIG difference!”

Peter laughed. “Yeah! About a C cup!” 

Janine smacked him hard on the back of his head.

“OW!” Peter yelled. “That was different! You were flirting with Spengs then! Now, it’s just ……”

“If you guys want me to help you in the field, then …,”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Red!” Peter warned her.

“......, then treat me like one of you,” she finished, ignoring Peter’s comment.

“Fine!” Peter announced. “You all heard her! Now she’s susceptible to crude jokes, farting in the car, and wedgies!”

Winston snickered as he drove Ecto-1 towards the hospital. Ray just shook his head, smiling. Egon had never stopped blushing. 

Janine looked at Peter, poking him in the chest with her index finger. “If you guys do crap like that, then you’re bigger juveniles than I thought!”

Peter leaned over to whisper in her ear: “yeah, maybe. But if you’re ‘one of the guys,’ then it would be easier to get Spengs to join you in the shower.” He gave her a playful wink. 

Egon glared at him. “I prefer to not share a shower with anyone, thank you!” He continued to blush. 

Janine just giggled. “Nah, but I still prefer to help you guys if you need it. But maybe for the next bit, I’ll stay behind the desk.”

“What happened to ‘barefoot and pregnant’?” Peter asked.

“I’m not surprised you heard that conversation,” Janine replied. “But, this call is gonna create some paperwork so that’ll take a short time. Not to mention if more calls come in. So, for now, I’ll stick by the receptionist/office manager guidelines.”

The guys smiled, visibly relaxing. 

“And what about your mom?” Ray asked. 

Janine smirked. “She doesn’t have to know everything I do every day. She’ll never know if nobody tells her!” 

They all threw up their hands signaling that they wouldn’t. 

Janine smiled and leaned against Egon’s shoulder in the back of Ecto. He said nothing but only smiled, wrapping a protective arm around her.


End file.
